Electrical connection apparatus



\ m2112939.' H,A DQUG| AS 2,164,202

ELECTRICAL CONNECTION APPARATUS Filed May 3l, 1935 Patented June 27, 1939 PATENT OFFICE laisfrzoz ELECTRICAL CONNECTION APPARATUS Harry A. Douglas, Bronson, Mich., assigner to Kingston Products Corporation, a corporation of Indiana Application Mayr 31, 1935, Serial No. 24,256

` Claims.

My invention relates to electrical connection apparatus, such as switches, sockets, and the like, and moreparticularly to electrical connection means which may be combined -with and em- 5 `bodied in various forms of electrical connection apparatus. In the present embodiment of my invention the electrical connection means comprises a terminal post adapted for the reception of a plug conductor terminal of the snap type, and by embodiment oi such an electrical connection means in electrical connection apparatus of various forms, vthe apparatus is adapted for use with plug conductor terminals of the snap type. The principal object of my invention is to provide new and improved electricalv connection apparatus and meansof the foregoing types. In the drawing accompanyingl this specification and forming a part of this application, I have shown for purposes of illustration, one form which my invention may assume, and in this drawing:

Figure 1 is a plan -view of an electrical switch embodying my invention, the switch being fragmentarily shown, i

Figure 2 is a perspective view of one of the terminal posts of the switch shown in Figure 1,

the switch base `and .casing being shownl fragmentarily,

Figure 3 is a longitudinal sectional viewofl a terminal post, taken along the line 3 3 of Figure 1, looking in the direction of the arrows, the base being fragmentarily shown, and a plug conductor terminal, cooperable with the terminal post, being added,

Figure 4 is a section on the line 4 4 of Figure :5,5 B, looking in the direction of the arrows,

Figure 5 is a section on the line 5 5 of Figure 4, looking in the direction of the arrows, and

Figure 6 is another perspective View of the terminal post, disassembled from the base, a portion of the base being fragmentarily shown, the view being taken looking in a direction toward the underside of the base and terminal post.

Referring to Figure 1 of the drawing the switch here shown includes an insulating base II closing the top Aof acasing I2, the casing being provided with ngers, the tips- I3 of which are clinched over the top of the insulating base I I. The casing I2 is providedwth a bracket I4, fragmentarily shown, whereby the casing may be suitably mounted. Within the switchcasing I2 isdisposed a movable switch member (not shown) operable by means of a reciprocable actuator4 I5, fragmentarily shown. The movable switch `memberis 55 cooperable-,with contact studsloneV ofi which I6;

lis shown in side elevation in Figure 3. Each contact stud, in this instance, is provided with a contact head I'l and has a shank I8 disposed through the insulating base II. The contact head I'I may be seated in a recess I9 in the inside face of the 5f base II, and may project somewhat from the inside face of the base. The end 2|] of the shank I8 may be spread laterally, as by riveting, swedging, or spinning, either over the upper surface of the insulating base I I, or over a conductor which 10` it is desired to electrically connect to the contact stud.

In this instance certainofi the contact studs are electrically connected to and hold in position on the base a plurality ofV terminal posts ZI 15 through 2l, the number of posts depending on the nature of the switch and the desired circuit connections.

Theterminal posts, 2I through 21 in the present embodiment, are all identical, and a descrip- 20 tion of the construction of one of them willV serve for all.

Referring particularly to the terminal post 23 shown in FiguresZI through 6 this post comprises a tubular body portion 28 of generally oblong rectangular ,cross-section, having narrower opposite walls 29, 3U, and wider opposite walls 3|, 32 at right angles to the narrower walls 29, 30. The upper (as viewed in Figure 2) wider wall 3| `is made in halves, one half 33 being integral with -30 the left hand narrower wallA 29 and the other half 34 being integral with the right hand narrower wall 30. The wall halves33, 34 have their adjacent-edges in abutment along a longitudinal line or plane of abutment'lS; The lower wider wall 35 32 is also made in halves, one half 35 being integral with the left hand narrower wall 29-`and the other half 36 being integral with: the right hand narrower wall 30. The wall halves 35, 3B have their adjacent edges in abutment along a longitudinal line or plane of abutment 16. The narrower walls 29, 3Uare integrally/joinedat their tops by a loop 31 providing an aperture 38. The legs of the loop 3l are shown as having their margins.'l9, 8l] tapering from the bight of thelloopV to the'junction between the legs ofi the loop andthe walls 29, 30. The upper ends of. the wider walls 3|, 32 may have arcuatemarginsf39, 40fconforming generally to the aperture 38 formed by the loop 31. The terms left, rightupper, lower and similar terms are used with particular` reference to Figure 2, forlconvenience ofdescription and are obviously, merely relative terms.

'Ihe left handwallshalf 35'; of= the lower wider 55.

Wall 32 is provided with a longitudinal extension 4|, extending beyond the body portion 28 of the terminal post. The general plane of the longitudinal extension 4| is shown as parallel to but somewhat offset from the general plane of the wider Wall 32, by an amount desirably equal to the thickness of the metal of the wall 32, and is integrally joined to the wall half 35 by an offset joint 42. The longitudinal extension 4I of the left hand Wall half 35 is wider than the wall half 35, and is here shown as approximately twice as wide as the Wall half 35.

The right hand wall half 36 of the lower wider Wall 32 is provided with a longitudinal extension 43 which is in the same general plane as the wall half 36 and is adapted to overlie the longitudinal extension 4| of the right hand Wall half 35, in contact with the surface of the longitudinal ex-l tension 4 I.

The body portion of the terminal post 23`is provided with a transverse end Wall 44, in this instance forming one leg of an angle piece having a leg 45 at right angles to the leg or Wall 44. The transverse end wall 44 is of a width such that its opposite lateral margins may be respectively disposed between the opposite inside margins 46, 41 of the free ends of the narrower walls 29, 30. The longer leg 45 of the angle piece is adapted to overlie the longitudinal extension 43 of the right hand Wall half 36. The longer leg 45 of the angle piece may be fastened in that position by providing the longitudinal extension 43 of the right hand wall half 36 with ngers 48, 49 adapted to be bent around a longitudinal lateral edge 50 of the longer leg 45 of the angle piece and down against the upper surface of that leg. A longitudinal edge portion 11 of the extension 43, between the fingers 43, 49 is also bent in the same manner as the lingers 43, 49, except that that edge portion 11 ends ush with the upper surface of the leg 45. Also, the longitudinal extension 4| of the left hand wall half 35 may be provided with iingers 5|, 52 which are long enough to be bent around a longitudinal lateral edge 530i the longitudinal extension 43 on the right hand wall half 36 and a longitudinal edge 54 of the longer leg 45 of the angle piece, and down against the upper surface of the longer leg 45 of the angle piece. The longitudinal edge portion 18 of the extension 4|, between the fingers 5|, 52, is also bent in the same manner as the fingers 5l, 52, except that that edge portion 18 ends flush with the upper surface of the leg 45.

The transverse wall 44 has its free end held in position by extensions 55, 56 on each of the wall halves 33, 34 of the wider wall 3|, bent at right angles to the wall halves 33, 34 and against the outer surface of the transverse wall 44.

Detent means 51 is provided for cooperation with the aperture 38 formed by the loop 31. The detent means 51 here shown is of generally U-shape, the bight 58 being plane and provided at opposite margins with legs 59, 60. The bight 58 of the detent means 51 is provided with a protuberance 6|, here shown as of semi-cylindrical form, the axis of the protuberance being at right angles to the axis of the aperture 38 formed by the loop 31. The protuberance 6| may be struck up from` the material of the bight 53. The detent means 51 is slidable within the tubular body 28 of the post and its movement toward the aperture 33 Aformed by the loop 31 is limited by shoulders 62, 63 formed by inward extensions on the narrower Walls 29, 30, these shoulders 62, 63 being approximately at the tops of the walls 29, 30

where these walls merge with the ends of the loop 31.

The detent means 51 is biased in a direction toward the aperture 38 formed by the loop 31 by a helical spring 64, one end of which engages the inside surface of the bight 58 of the detent means 51 and the other end of which engages the transverse wall 44.

For fastening the compound longitudinal extension, formed by the longitudinal extensions 4|, 43 and the leg 45 of the angle piece, to a support, the two longitudinal extensions 4|, 43 on the wall halves 35, 3,6 and the leg 45 of the angle piece may be provided with registering apertures 65, 66, 61 through which a fastening means is adapted to pass. In order to prevent the terminal post 23 from rotating about a fastening means, the outermost longitudinal extension 4| may be provided with a projection 68 extending at right angles to the extension 4|, here shown as struck out from that extension 4|, from the margin of the aperture 65. The projection 68 is adapted to t in a notch or recess 69 extending radially from the margin of an aperture 1G in the base.

A contact stud, such as the contact stud i6, is adapted to have its shank I8 disposed through the base aperture 10 and through the apertures 65, 66, 61 in the compound longitudinal extension and to have its end 2|) spread over the outer surface of the leg 45 of the angle piece, thereby tightly holding the terminal post 22 to the base l In Figure 3 is shown a form of plug conductor terminal adapted to cooperate with the terminal post 23, the plug conductor terminal comprising in this instance a generally cylindrical portion 1| having an annular furrow 12 therein and a frustro-conical end 13. The plug terminal may be fastened to a conductor disposed therein by swedging, as indicated by swedge indentations i4. When the plug conductor terminal is inserted in the aperture 38 formed by the loop 31, the frustroconical end 13 acts against the protuberance El of the detent means 51 to move the detent means against the bias oi the spring 64, continued inserting movement causing the protuberance 6| to snap into the annular furrow 12.

It will of course be evident that all of the terminal posts 2| through 21 shown in Figure l are adapted to receive plug conductor terminals, such as the one shown in Figure 3. It will further be evident that whereas in the embodiment of Figure 1 the terminal posts are all mounted on a plane base, the axes of the plug terminal receiving apertures 38 of the posts are parallel and that the plug conductor terminals are easily insertable in the terminal posts irrespective of the angles which the longitudinal axes of the termiv nal posts 2| through 21 may make with each other. It will further be obvious that a plug conductor terminal may be inserted from either side of any one of the terminal posts, where, as in the present embodiment, the terminal posts extend suiciently over the edge of the support or base on which they are mounted.

Considerable push or pull is required to insert into or remove from a terminal post a plug conductor terminal of the snap type, as hereinbefore described. It will be apparent that the construction of the terminal post is designed to resist bending stresses, cause by such a push or pull, or otherwise tending to bend the body portion of the terminal post with respect to the compound supporting extension.

It will be apparent that a terminal post, such as the post 23, may have its body portion 28,

the loop 38, the longitudinal extensions 4|, 43, and the extensions 55, made from a single integral sheet metal stamping, bent to the form hereinbefore described. The detent means 51 and the angle piece 44, 45 may obviously also be made of sheet metal.

From the foregoing it Will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the illustrated embodiment of my invention provides new and improved electrical connection means and apparatus, readily and conveniently constructed and assembled, and accordingly, accomplishes at leastI the principal object of my invention. On the other hand, it also will be obvious to those skilled in the art that the illustrated embodiment of my invention may be variously changed and modified, or features thereof, singly or collectively, embodied in other combinations than those illustrated, without departing from the spirit of my invention, or sacrificing all of the advantages thereof, and that accordingly, the disclosure herein is illustrative only, and my invention is not limited thereto.

I claim:

1. Conductor terminal receiving means, com prising: a tubular body portion of generally rectangular cross-section, a pair of opposite walls adjacent one end thereof being extended and joined to form an aperture, the other end of said body portion being open, and a wall of said body portion adjacent said other end being provided with an extension having extending fastening means; detent means cooperable with said aperture and a plug conductor terminal receivable in said aperture; spring means to bias said detent means to operative position, said spring means and said detent means being disposed within said tubular body; and an independent transverse end wall for said body portion, substantially closing said other end, said end wall serving as an abutment for said spring means, and having a portion disposed adjacent said extension, and secured to said body portion by said extending fastening means formed on said extension.

2. Conduct'or terminal receiving means, comprising: a tubular body portion, a pair of opposite walls of which are extended and joined to form an aperture for receiving a conductor terminal, and the other pair of opposite walls being split, one of said other pair of split walls having extending portions generally overlying each other, and the opposite split Wall having inwardly directed portions; and a separate member having a part in juxtaposition with respect to said overlying portions, and another part engaging said inwardly directed portions and closing off the adjacent end of said tubular body portion.

3. Conductor terminal receiving means, comprising: a tubular body portion, a pair of opposite walls of which are extended and joined to form an aperture for receiving a conductor terminal, and the other pair of oppositewalls being split, one of said other pair of split walls having extending portions generally overlying each other, the extending portions, at opposite margins, being provided with inwardly turned fingers, and the opposite wall having inwardly directed portions; and a separate member having a part in juxtaposition with respect to said overlying portions and clinched thereto by said inwardly turned fingers, and another part engaging said inwardly directed portions and closing off the adjacent end of said tubular body portion.

4. Electrical connection means, comprising: an axially-split tubular sheet-metal body, the Walls at one end of said body being extended and joined to form a loop for receiving a conductor terminal, and the walls on opposite sides of the split at the other end of said body being extended, the extended portions overlying each other; a support; and fastening means, engaging said overlying portions and said support, securing said body to said support, and holding said overlying portions against relative movement.

5. Electrical connection means, comprising: a tubular sheet-metal body of polygonal cross-section, opposing walls of said body being axially split, and opposing non-split Walls being extended and joined to form a loop at one end of said body for receiving a conductor terminal, the walls adjacent one split being extended away from the other end of said body, the extended portions overlying each other; a support; and fastening means engaging said overlying portions and said support, securing said body to said support, and holding said overlying portions against relative movement.

HARRY A. DOUGLAS. 

